Treatments for kids with food allergies allow safe eating in Stanford Medicine-led trial

Skip to main content Skip to section navigation

Menu

Search

Clear Submit

Research<br>\r\nEducation<br>\r\nPatient Care<br>\r\nGive<br>\r\nAbout<br>\r\n"}}" id="text-5af3feedeb" class="cmp-text"><br>Research

Education

Patient Care

Give

About

Stanford Medicine researchers have found that medication, oral immunotherapy or both allow children to safely eat foods — such as nuts, wheat, dairy and eggs — that once triggered an allergic reaction.

KotBaton/Adobe Stock

News

Allergies July 27, 2026

Treatments for kids with food allergies allow safe eating in Stanford Medicine-led trial

By Erin Digitale

Children with several food allergies have a variety of treatment options, including the medication omalizumab and oral immunotherapy, a new clinical trial led by Stanford Medicine has found.

Share Article:<br>Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Email

About a third of children with multiple food allergies gained the ability to safely eat full servings of foods that trigger their allergies in a new Stanford Medicine-led clinical trial.<br>\nThe results were published July 27 in JAMA Pediatrics.<br>\nThe finding comes from the second stage of a nationwide clinical trial of omalizumab, a drug that binds and inactivates the antibodies responsible for many kinds of allergic disease. In February 2024, based on the first stage of the same trial, the medication received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its ability to protect people from allergic reactions caused by accidental exposure to small amounts of allergy-triggering foods.<br>\nThe latest research went further. It looked at whether omalizumab — alone or in combination with a second allergy treatment, oral immunotherapy — enables people with life-threatening food allergies to eat these foods regularly.<br>\n“We have demonstrated that there are multiple paths to living a safe life with food allergies,” said the study’s senior author, Sharon Chinthrajah, MD, professor of medicine and of pediatrics, and co-director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Medicine. The new study’s goal for tolerance was rigorous: Participants were considered successful if they could eat full servings of three different foods that triggered their allergies by the conclusion of the study.<br>\nThe findings will help physicians tailor allergy treatment to individuals’ varied goals for living with their allergies, Chinthrajah said, noting that some patients want to eat these foods as a regular part of their diets, while others want protection from accidental exposures.<br>\n“This study is very encouraging because it shows that we have treatment choices for our patients that are safe and not too burdensome,” said Sayantani Sindher, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine, who was a coauthor on the study.<br>\nPreventing dangerous reactions<br>\nFood allergies are common, affecting 8% of U.S. children and 10% of adults. To prevent allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock, patients have had to avoid foods that triggered their allergies. For children, this is especially tricky, given that the most common allergy triggers — wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts — are found throughout the food supply, and about 40% of kids with allergies react to more than one food. Social occasions such as birthday parties, school events and restaurant meals can be fraught with worry about life-threatening allergic reactions.<br>\nAbout 16 years ago, Stanford Medicine research teams began testing oral immunotherapy, a treatment in which patients build tolerance to foods that trigger their allergies by eating tiny, gradually increasing daily doses of these foods. The method works but has drawbacks: The process is slow and requires regular doctor’s office visits; it can cause allergic reactions or have unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects; and patients must reduce their physical activity levels for an hour after each dose of food proteins, which can be difficult for active children. In addition, to maintain tolerance to the foods, patients must keep eating them regularly, even if they dislike them.<br>\nIn 2011, a Stanford Medicine team found that the combination of omalizumab, an injectable medication, and oral immunotherapy had advantages over oral immunotherapy alone, speeding the treatment and reducing side effects. Stanford Medicine researchers continued to lead the field, including by designing the trial that led to 2024’s FDA approval of omalizumab for keeping kids safe from accidental exposure to small amounts of allergens.<br>\nBringing allergens into the daily diet<br>\nThe new stage 2 clinical trial, conducted in 117 children with food allergies, compared a year of treatment with omalizumab against eight weeks of omalizumab followed by oral immunotherapy for multiple foods for the rest of the year. The median age of children participating in the trial was 7 years. All participants had a peanut allergy and at...